Zandvoort.- After three weeks on vacation, the Formula 1 Return this weekend in Netherlandswhere the Australian Oscar Piastriat the head of the World Cup, he will try to keep his privileged position before his first persecutor and partner in McLaren, Lando Norris.
In the Zandvoort circuit, the 15th test of 24 of the season, favoritism falls on Norris: winner of three of the last four great awards, the British is also the last to have imposed with the North Sea, last year.
The current runner -up, which began the season at the head of the World Cup, is now only 9 Piastri points, which last year could only be fourth in Zandvoort.
Threat of rain
Dominant from the first race of the season, McLaren has won eleven victories in the 14 major awards played, with seven doubles (first and second place in the same race).
Behind, the rest of the grill distributes the crumbs.
Third of the World Cup and relegated to 97 piastri points is the current world champion, Max Verstappenwhich also suffers the law of the McLaren.
With the support of the ‘Oranje’ tide this weekend, the Dutch hopes to meet the victory, more for the honor than for the race for a world title that seems destined for one of the cars of the Papaya team.
The drought begins to be worrying for ‘Mad Max’: winner of only two GP this year. The last victory of Red Bull’s pilot dates back to May, in the GP of Emilia-Romaña.
“It will be a difficult career in any case,” Verstappen, winner of three of the four editions of the Netherlands GP from his return to the calendar in 2021. “The climatic conditions could complicate things.”
Indeed, storms are expected during the weekend, conditions that, however, are given the Dutch.
Narrow circuit
The holidays will have served as a disconnection for Lewis Hamilton, which left the paddock at the beginning of August in full crisis of trust in Ferrari.
During the last GP, the British pronounced a few hard words against himself after having failed in the qualifying session: “I am completely useless,” he launched.
He finished the race in 12th position, far from his Monegasco partner Charles Leclerc (4th).
“He is very demanding, first of all, towards himself,” he explained at the end of the GP his boss, Frédéric Vasseur. “That’s why it’s seven times world champion.”
Second in the World Cup, Ferrari arrives on the Dutch coasts with “desire to maintain the positive dynamics of the last races,” said Vasseur this week.
“This weekend, the qualifying session will be especially crucial given the difficulty in advancing in that circuit,” recalled the Frenchman.
The narrow circuit of Zandvoort is a challenge for pilots and overtaking is more unusual than in other paths.
Outside the asphalt, Cadillac announced this week the signing of Mexican Sergio Pérez and Finn Valtteri Bottas for its beginnings in F1 by 2026. The American team will become the 11th grill team.
